THE worst is over in Marawi City, but left behind is a decimated city, skeletons of what was before, all bearing the horrors of war. There has to be healing, a long process, a difficult one.
Thus, we look deep in our hearts and bring out the artists within for in art “is the promise of inner wholeness”.
In such a state of devastation, there is the pressing need to bring out the beauty, in whatever form it is found; in the debris, in the brokenness, in the despair. There is also the need to open our minds toward understanding and forgiving.
Thus, we find inspiration in contemporary philosopher Alain de Botton and art historian John Armstrong’s book, Art as Therapy where they enumerated the seven psychological functions of art.
These are remembering, hope, sorrow, rebalancing, self-understanding, growth, and appreciation.
In discussing art as remembering, the authors wrote: "Art is a way of preserving experiences, of which there are many transient and beautiful examples, and that we need help containing."
Optimism, the book says, is an important ingredient of success because many positive outcomes are determined by how much optimism we bring in. While appreciating prettiness does not mean it can take us out of the doldrums of reality, art that evokes hope and cheerfulness opens up the carefree side of ourselves. The sadness that may come from being touched by the prettiness of an artwork may be in recognition of the darkness of one's life; and that glimpse of beauty brings out hope.
"Art can offer a grand and serious vantage point from which to survey the travails of our condition," the book reads.
Setting as example the Caspar David Friedrich's "Rocky Reef on the Sea Shore" c. 1825, the two pointed out that the painting is somber not sad, and calm not despairing. As such, "we are left ... better equipped to deal with the intense, intractable, and particular griefs that lie before us."
In a way, de Botton and Armstrong posits, art pushes into our consciousness what is missing in our lives, and in recognition of this, we are rebalanced.
"Art can save us time -- and save our lives -- through opportune and visceral reminders of balance and goodness that we should never presume we know enough about already," they wrote.
Art somehow helps us understand ourselves, by knowing how we want our space decorated or what art piece we want to buy, and through what we surround ourselves with, we communicate who we are to others, thus self-understanding is achieved. Art becomes the media through which we understand ourselves better and communicate to others who we are.
In Growth, the book points out that there are pieces that we love and those that feel repulsive.
"Engagement with art is useful because it presents us with powerful examples of the kind of alien material that provokes defensive boredom and fear, and allows us time and privacy to learn to deal more strategically with it," they said. In opening up to art that at first feel repulsive or uninteresting or alien, we open our minds as well to what is not familiar, and thus allows us to engage with a broader spectrum of humanity.
In at teaching appreciation, the authors posits that it is also a "re-sensitization tool" as it "peels away and saves us from our spoilt, habitual disregard for what is all around us."
Through art, we recover our sensitivity and we are able to "look at the world in new ways".
In short, repugnant or pretty, art delivers a spectrum of emotions that we can benefit from, but only if we tap into our hearts; and in a city where the people are broken and in the dark, art can light the way. Soon.
*****
saestremera@gmail.com